Metals recovery apparatus



Aug., 7, 1945. Rp. GRAY 2,381,157

I V METALS RECOVERY APPARATUS Filed March 2 8, 1942 2 Sheets iSheet lFIG. I.

ROY O. GRAY,

INVENTOR BY WHITEHEAD & VOGL TTOR EYs PER M R. O. GRAY Aug. 7, 1945.

METALS RECOVERY APPARATUS Filed March 28, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ROY O.GRAY,

1NVENTOR.

BY WHITEHEAD (K VOGL FIG 7 ATTORNEYS PER Patented Aug. 7, 1945 METALSRECOVERY APPARATUS I Roy Gray, Denver, 0010., assig'nor of one-half toC. F. Gillette, Denver, Colo.

Application March 28-, 1942, Serial No.43,6,663

8 Claims.

This invention relates to the separation and recovery of values fromores, and more particularly to the separation and recovery of metalssusceptible of mercury amalgamation, and has for an object to provideimproved means and apparatus wherethrough such separation and recoverymay be efliciently accomplished.

Further objects of the invention are to provide: (0.) improved means andapparatus for the separation and recovery of values from ores while dry;(b) improved means and apparatus operable to repetitiously expose thesurfaces of value particles in a dry ore to intimate contact withmercury for the recovery of such particles through amalgamation; (0)improved means and apparatus operable to effect a traverse of dry oreparticles through and for agitation within a mercury bath; ((1) improvedmeans for separating amalgamated values from associated gangue duringtraverse of the dry ore through a mercury bath; (e) improved means forrubbing and agitating ore particles during traverse of the dry orethrough a mercury bath to facilitate amalgamation; (j) improved meansand apparatus for the separation and recovery of values from dry oreswhich is simple and inexpensive of construction and operation,susceptible of practical development in the form of a compact, readilytransportable unit, which is adapted for continuous, progressiveoperation, efiicient in use, and

which is arranged for complete operative actuation by means of a singlepower unit of relatively small size.

With these and other objects in view, all of.

which will more fully hereinafter appear, my invention comprises certainnovel constructions, combinations and arrangements of parts, as will behereinafter fully described and claimed, and as illustrated intheaccompanying drawings, in which-- Figure 1 is avertical sectionsomewhat diagrammatic in character, taken longitudinally through anassembly of elements constituting one practical embodiment of theinvention.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary detail section, on an enlarged scale, takenvertically through certain of the elements shown in the right hand andlower portion of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a cross section taken on the indicated line 3-3 of Figure 2.

Figure' l is a fragmentary, detail section taken substantially on theindicated line 4-4 of Fig- .ure 2.

Figure 5 is a cross section taken on the indicated line 5-5 of Figure 2.

relation with the shaft I4, so that Figure 6 is'a fragmentary, detailsection taken substantially on. the indicated line. 6-6 of Figure2. I 1

Figure '7 is,a fragmentary, detail "section, on' an enlarged scale,taken substantiallyon the indicated line 1-1 of Figure 1.

Certain precious'metals, particularly gold and silver, are found onoccasion in earthy and siliceous deposits remote from supplies of wateradequate for processing the deposits for there'- covery of values byconventional placer methods. The values in such deposits arefrequentl'yin free milling form and hence available for recovery byamalgamation, particularly iw hen'ftl'i'e surface oxides inhibitingamalgamation are broken or rubbed away. "Ihe'instant invention'isprimarily concerned with the provision of apparatus operable tosuccessfully. treat the materialj'of such deposits, while in normal drycondition, for the recovery of values therefrom by meansiofamalgamation, and. the apparatus of the inven tion i also operable tosimilarly treat and r'e-j cover values from comminuted ores wherein thevalues sought are in a native, chemicallyl un combined state. Asvhereinv used, ore'includes placer material, while gangue refersto th'atportion of such ore not sought to be recovered by operation of thepresent invention. a I H As shown in Figure 1, the improved apparatusincludes an elongate box-like housing IO' sup-f ported at its lower endon a suitable frame or platform II and rising from and at an inclination with the support II to communicate at its upper end withthe upperend of a somewhat similar elongate, box-like housingfIZ whereof thelower end engages the support II at aJpoint remote from the lower end ofth e housing I0. The housings Ill and lzthusform' 'aninvert ed V whereofthe elements aresecurelyand rigidly interconnected and secured to. thesupport II. A hopper I3 is carried by the lower end o'f the housing I 0and communicates in any suitable manner with the otherwise closed lowerend of said housing, so that material fed into .thefhop per .I3 is freeto enter the lower portion of the associated housing. a

A shaft I4 is mounted for rotation inand horizontally traverses the"lower end of housing I0, andashaft I5 isrotatably mounted in the-junction of the housings I0 and I2 in spaced, parallel an endlessconveyorI6, preferably of bucket type) may be en- .gaged about suitable sprocketor roller elements I l on the shafts I4 and I 5 to mount said conveyorfor operation longitudinally of and within; the

housing l0. It is the function of the conveyor Hi to transport materialfed into the hopper I3 upwardly along and within the housing In and todeliver such material into the upper end of the housing l2 for traveldownwardly within the latter housing under the influence of gravity. Theconveyor l6 may be of any type or specific construction suitable to itspurpose, the drawings illustrating a typical endless chain conveyorcarrying spaced buckets arranged to scoop into the material fed throughthe hopper l3 and discharge such material as the buckets are invertedduring their travel about the shaft IS.

A suitable power unit I8, such as an internal combustion engine,electric motor, or the like, is positioned on the support I I,preferably between the lowerends of housings l and I2, and is suitablyand operatively connected, as by means of a belt l9 or equivalentpower-transmitting means, with a pulley or comparable element fixed toan outer end of the shaft l4, so that actuation of the power unit l8operates to rotate the shaft l4 and drive the conveyor l6.

The housing I2 is charged with a supply of mercury which fills the lowerportion of said housing and rises'therein to a level approximatelyindicated by the broken line 20, and the material delivered to saidhousing by the conveyor l6 descends through the upper portion of thehousin 12 to engage against and rest upon the upper surface of themercury body, a baffle 2|, closing against side and top walls of thehousing [2 and disposed with its lower margin spaced somewhat from thelower wall of said housing, serving to define a throat between the uppersurface of the mercury body and the delivery end of the conveyor l6,through which the feed of ore material is restricted and regulated tothe desired rate of flow.

Ore delivered to the upper surface of the mercury body will not, ofitself, enter within and traverse the mercury, hence mechanical meansare provided to positively carry the ore downwardly within andthroughthe mercury, such means conveniently taking the form of an endlessconveyor 22, of bucket type, mounted between and for travel about alower shaft 23 mounted for rotation horizontally across a lower portionof the housing l2 and an upper shaft 24 mounted for rotationhorizontally across said housing above the level of the body of mercuryand in shielded relation with the baffle 2|. The buckets 25 of theconveyor 22 open upwardly along the top flight of the conveyor and hencedownwardly when travelling with the lower flight of the conveyor, andthe conveyor is suitably'driven so that the buckets on the lower flightof the conveyor pass through and become charged with ore resting on thesurface of the mercury body and carry such ore downwardly through themercury; a convenient means of so driving the conveyor, through theagency of the power unit l8, being illustrated as including a gear 26fixedly carried by an outer end of the shaft 24 in meshing relation witha gear 21 fixed to the corresponding end of a j ackshaft 28, disposedforrotation in parallel relation with the shaft 24, and a belt or chain29 operatively engaging about pulleys or sprockets fixed tocorresponding ends of the shaft 15 and jackshaft 28, so that rotation ofthe shaft l deriving from actuation of the conveyor l6 serves to rotatethe shaft 24 in an opposite direction and hence drives the conveyor 22.in the direction desired. a

When the conveyor 22 is actuated at slow to moderate speeds, the orematerial engaged within the buckets 25 will, to some extent, leave saidbuckets during upward travel thereof along the upper flight of theconveyor, since the heavier mercury will tend to enter the buckets anddisplace the lighter ore material to rise through the mercury body.However, agitation of the ore material within the mercury andsubstantially complete clearing of the conveyor buckets of their chargeof ore material is accomplished by directing a jet of mercury into thepockets of said buckets as they pass about the shaft 23 to start theirupward travel. To provide the desired jet action, a suitable pump 30 maybe positioned on the support ll adjacent the power unit [8 andoperatively connected with said power unit by means of a belt orequivalent drive, 3|. The intake of the pump 3|] is connected by meansof a pipe or conduit 32, engaging through a wall of the housing I2, withthe mercury body wellabove the lower end of the housing l2, and theoutlet of the pump 30 is connected by means of a pipe or conduit 33 witha nozzle 34 engaging at an angle through a side wall of the housing 12 ashort distance above the shaft 23 and directed to discharge into oneside of each of the'buckets as' the latter pass about the shaft 23 tostart their upward travel. To facilitate clearing of ore material fromthe buckets 25 under the action of the mercury jet delivered through thenozzle 34, said buckets may be formed with side walls converging fromthe mouth and toward each other adjacent the base of the bucket.

The surfaces of the value particles in theore that escapes or isdislodged from the buckets 25 within the mercury body are brought. intointimate contact with the mercury, so that the values sought,particularly gold and silver, may amalgamate with the mercury, and,because of the greater density of the amalgam it descends to the lowerend of the mercury body whence the amalgam may be drawn off andrecovered through a suitable discharge valve 35 on and communicatingthrough the lowermost point of the housing l2. In certain cases, andparticularly when the value particles sought to be recovered haveoxidized surfaces, some of the values will fail of amalgamation withinthe housing l2 and will tend to rise with the lighter gangue to thesurface of the mercury body. The material thus rising through themercury will follow a substam tially vertical path and hence may bediverted from the housing I2 through a throat formed by offset portionsof the upper wall of the housing l2 and communicating with an agitatingtrap. The throat leading to the trap is preferably positioned well belowthe mercury level 20 and is formed by spacing the lower portion of thehous ing upper wall outwardly from the adjacent upper continuation ofsaid wall, so that lighter ore material rising through the mercury bodyand impinging against the inner inclined surface of the housing upperwall lower section will move along such surface and pass through thethroat into the trap.

The trap consists of an upwardly inclined, somewhat tortuous passageextending outwardly from the housing l2 to communicate between saidhousing and an open hopper 36 positioned with its discharge lip 31slightly above the mercury level 20, so that the passage constitutingthetrap and a lower portion of-the hopper 36 are charged with mercurywhich rises'in said hopper to the same level as is maintained within thehousing l2. The trap is defined by a substantially fiat bottom wall 38closing against the lower section of the upper surface of the housingand inclining upwardly and outwardly therefrom to merge, throughanoifset 38', with the bottom of the hopper 36, side walls 39 risingfrom opposite margins of the wall 38 and continued to form side wallsfor the hopper 36, and a top wall 40 closing against the upper sectionof the upper conveyor wall and extending upwardly and outwardlytherefrom in spaced relation above the wall 38 to terminate in anupwardly-directed flange 40' constituting an inner end wall-of thehopper 36. The wall 40 of the trapis arranged as a series ofupwardly-stepped sections which provide transverse shoulders 4i atintervals along its under surface, and a series of transverse bafiies42, each formed with an upturned lip 43, extending along the bafliemargin remote from the housing I2, is disposed between the walls 38 and4c in substantially parallel relation with the wall 38 and with theirlips 43 spaced slightly below and inwardly toward the housing I 2fromadiacent shoulders 4! of the top wall 40, so that a relativelynarrow passage is defined between the wall 38 and the ballies 42,wherewith communication is had from the trap passage above said bafllesthrough spaces left between adjacent margins of succeeding baffles. Theinnermost of the bafiles 42 is continued to form a wall 44 parallel withand spaced inwardly from upper and end walls of the housing lowersection, and thus defines a flow passage along the conveyor lowersection upper wall which opens adjacent the valve '35.

It is the function of the trap to agitate and rub the surfaces of thevalue particles engaged therein to facilitate amalgamation of saidparticles with the mercury within the trap. The gangue and associatedvalue particles which enter the trap tend to rise through the mercury inthe trap and impinge against the under surface of the wall 40, theupward and outward inclination of said wall directing the ore materialtoward the hopper 36, past the lips 43 of the baffies 42, and across theshoulders 4| of the wall 40, thus agitating and rubbing the ore materialparticles repeatedly during the transit of the material from the housingI2 to the hopper 36. The value particles having rubbed andfreshly-exposed surfaces readily amalgamate, and the heavier,amalgamated material enters the flow passage along the trap wall 38through the spaces between adjacent baflies and returns by gravitythrough such flow passage and its extension along the housing wall, tothe lower portion of the housing I2 adjacent the valve 35, the lightergangue and waste material, collecting above the mercury surface in thehopper 36 whence it maybe discharged over the lip 31.

The platform or support I I may, as is obvious, be mounted on wheels orskids for convenient transportation from one location to another, all ofthe elements and instrume'ntalities required for successful operation ofthe improved apparatus in the recovery of metallic values being car--ried by or associated with said support, The hopper 36 and the outer endof the trap assembly may be braced to the housing [2 or supporteddirectly from the platform II by means of a frame or strut 45.

Since many changes, variations and modifications in the specific form,construction, and arrangementof elements shown and described may be hadwithout departing from the spirit of my invention, I Wish to beunderstood as being limited solely by the scope of the appended claims,rather than by any details of the illustrative showing and foregoingdescription.

I claim:

1. In apparatus of the character described, a mercury body ofsubstantial altitudinal extent, a bucket chain for entraining orematerial to the lower part of said body and a mercury jet directedagainst said buckets successively to force said ore material from saidbuckets.

2. In ore-treating apparatus, a pair of upwardly-converging, elongatehousings intercommunicating at their upper ends, means for feedingfinely divided ore material to the lower end of one of said housings, abody of mercury of substantial altitudinal extent in the lower portionof the other housing, means for elevating ore material from said feedingmeans through said first housing and to precipitate said ore materialfrom into the second housing and against the upper surface of themercury body and bucket-conveyor means adapted to gather in buckets saidore material and mercury at said surface and entrain the same downwardlythrough the mercury body.

3. Apparatus of the character described, comprising a, pair ofupwardly-converging, elongate housings intercommunicating at their upperends, conveyor means operable to elevate material within one of saidhousings for delivery Within the upper end of the other housing, acharge of mercury filling the lower portion of and rising well withinsaid other housing to receive the delivered ore on its upper surface, abucket chain traversing said mercury charge and operable to entrain orefrom the mercury surface and releas said ore adjacent the lower end ofthe mercury charge, pump-actuated mercury jet means disposed to impingeagainst the pass a predetermined low point within the mercury charge toclear ore material from said buckets and disperse and agitate the oreparticles within the mercury charge.

4. Apparatus of the character described having ore receiving andelevating means, an upstanding, elongate housing inclined from thevertical and communicating at its upper end with said elevating means toreceive ore therefrom, a charge of mercury of substantial altitudinalextent filling the lower portion of said housing, a bafile restrictingthe open area of said housing between the housing upper end and themercury surface to control ore fed to said mercury surface, an endlessconveyor of bucket type in the lower portion of said housing andextending above the mercury surface to entrain ore downwardly throughthe mercury, a pumpactuated mercury jet disposed to impinge within lowerbucket elements of said conveyor and disperse and agitat are materialentrained by said buckets, a throat communicating through the upper,inclined wall of said housing within said mercury charge, an outwardlyand upwardly inclined trap communicating with said throat, and atortuous passage in said trap operable to agitate and rub ore materialpassing therethrough.

, 5. In apparatus of the character described having an upstanding,elongate housing inclined from the vertical and means for deliveringfinely the top of the first housing wardly divided ore to the upper endof said housing, means for separating Values from said ore, said meanscomprising a charge of mercury rising well within the lower portion ofsaid housing to receive the ore against its upper surface, a bucketchain conveyor for entraining said ore downthrough said mercury,pump-actuated mercury jet means disposed to clear ore mateterial fromthe buckets of said conveyor adjacent the lower end of the housing.

6. A readily transportable metals recovery apparatus comprising amovable base carrying a pair of elongate housings upwardly convergingand intercommunicating at their upper ends, one housing having orereceiving means at its lower end and means for conveying received ore toits upper end and for dumping the conveyed ore into the other housing,said other housing carrying therein a body of mercury adapted to receiveon its upper surface said dumped ore, bucket-conveyor means adapted togather in buckets said ore and mercury at said surface and entrain thesame downwardly through the mercury and means for releasing the ore fromthe buckets near the bottom of the body and a prime mover carried bysaid base for operating said conveying means, said entraining means andsaid releasing means.

'7. In apparatus as defined in releasing means comprising a nozzle aimedat the interiors of said buckets as they successively pass the bottompoint of said conveyor and means for projecting a jet of mercury fromsaid nozzle into said buckets whereby to eject the contents of thebuckets, successively, at a point near the lower extremity of theirtravel.

8. In apparatus for recovering metals from ores a housing carrying abody of mercury, means for depositing ore on the surface of said body,bucket chain conveyor means in said housing adapted to gather in saidbuckets said ore and mercury and carry such gathered material downwardlythrough said body and a nozzle aimed at the interiors of the buckets asthey successively pass the bottom point of said conveyor and means forprojecting a jet of mercury from said nozzle into the buckets whereby toeject the contents from the buckets at a point near the lower extremityof their travel.

ROY 0. GRAY.

claim 6, said

